When traditional trail extend out , cold-blooded - case detectives sometimes rely on a what seems like a flippant way to deal with homicides and missing - person shell : card game .

enliven by the “ personality designation performing cards " used by the U.S. government in 2003 to help identify the most - want members of Saddam Hussein ’s government , some states publish decks of cards featuring the gens and images of victims of unresolved crimes . These cold - case playing cards are designed to even up the memory of the con who practice them , potentially contribute to useful tips for investigator .

Where a normal pack of cards of play cards might have an icon reflecting the case , or an mental image of a king or queen , cold - example playing cards typically feature the portraits and names of dupe with a short verbal description of the crime , and any reward offered . Versions of them are spread in prison in more than a XII country , includingFlorida , New York , South Carolina , Idaho , andColorado , among others . The idea has also been export internationally , toAustralia .

Florida Department of Corrections

The idea is that as convict play a game of salamander or spirit , they might see a description of a crime they realize — something they ’ve maybe heard a fellow captive boast about , for instance . They can then make a innocent phone call to a cold - case hotline . Several states have printed multiple editions of the add-in decks , updating them with newfangled cases .

While there is n’t national data usable on the succeeder of these programs , at least a few character have been close thanks to cold - case bill of fare programme . In 2007 , a game ofGo Fishin a Florida prison lead to a tip that solved a three - twelvemonth - erstwhile murder . A amount of nine Connecticut moth-eaten case have been work out as a resultant of the playing poster program , Chief State ’s Attorney Kevin Kane toldSlate . As of April 2015 , the Colorado Bureau of Investigation has receivedmore than 60 tipsfrom inmate using the cards .

state vary in how they pay for the playing card programme . Some trade the cards to yard bird , while others are funded by grants or the country corrections department ’s budget .

They may not be the most glamourous or cheerful playing card ever designed , but they have contribute to the most utile game of Go Fish ever bet .

[ h / t : Slate ]